Animas Forks to Frisco Mill-Alpine Loop

The Frisco Mill is one of the many historic mining sites on the 65 mile Alpine Loop scenic by-way in southwest Colorado. It is easy walking distance from Animas Forks along the California Gulch 4WD road. Animas Forks is about 12 miles north of Silverton, CO at the headwaters of the Animas River.

The starting elevation at Animas Forks is about 11,300 feet and the trail climbs another 360 feet in about 0.7 miles. Looking back down the trail, the rough roads to Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass are visible, both parts of the Alpine Loop.
 

The Frisco Mill is point of interest number 13 on the Animas Forks Walking Tour, even though it is somewhat distant from Animas Forks and not many actually walk there.

The Frisco Mill is also the site of a long tunnel where drilling began in 1877 but took many years to reach profitable ore. The project changed hands several times and had several names. The mill was built in 1903 with a design capacity of 150 tons per day and was intended to separate the valuable ore from sand, gravel, and clay.

On the way up there is a small sign that says this area is an example of Alpine Tundra, found only in the arctic and isolated high mountain areas. In mid-July there are lush wildflowers along the way. Some of the information for this area says that there were previously many more trees on the slopes, but they were taken for use as building material and firewood.
 

Looking inside, many of the beams and columns have numbers on them. It was designed and constructed at the San Juan Lumber Company in Durango, CO. Then it was disassembled, shipped to the present site and reassembled according to directions.

The California Gulch Road is a side loop off of the Alpine Loop and visits other mining sites including the Vermillion, Sound Democrat 1886, Mountain Queen 1882, and Gold Prince 1903. My hike to the Frisco Mill took 0:45 minutes for about 1.4 miles round trip from Animas Forks. All the other visitors that I saw arrived in 4WD or ATV vehicles.